Well, Thessa is essentially music for musicians. If you like totally guitar-driven songs (not that there isn’t any other instruments in the music, but the guitar is the main instrument, and dictates the rhythm of the songs), the album will be a great delight to your ears, but if you are not into that, the 59:12 full length will probably exhaust you, so you have to take a stance, before listening to this album. Otherwise, you will be totally bored, unless your passion for guitar-driven songs is way above the accepted levels of normality.
Despite the variety and the change in melodies, the album is very linear and homogeneous. It can be a great lesson if you are a guitar student: if you learn how to play two or three songs of the album, you will certainly improve your skills in the art of playing, especially depending on how long you have been learning (this album wouldn’t work for beginners).
The songs are beautifully executed, and what I liked most in the album are definitely the almost perfectly synchronized mathematical rhythms that features in some songs, interesting in the way melodies are structured above them, in a very symmetric cadence of sounds, constructed carefully behind the changing pace of guitar riffs.
Well, like I said some lines above, Thessa – specially this album – is music for musicians. If you, on the other hand, are not taking guitar lessons, and are definitely NOT into a whole guitar-driven instrumental album, you will be bored to death. Which gives me two possibilities when rating this album: if I was a guitar student, I certainly would give a four starts rate, since I would learn a lot (or become frustrated on not having the ability to play decently) but, since I’m not a guitar student (and don’t have any plans to become one), I can give only a rate based on my personal analyzes on its technicality, artistic result, and level of amazement, and this turns out as a two and a half stars rate, at best. It’s a good album, but, despite some great moments of magical and glorious harmony, a whole album lead by a guitar-driven sound can be tiresome, for sure. Although some passages are very good, I probably can’t listen to this album a second time. It is too technically driven for me. Like I said, and repeat – it’s great music, for musicians only. Guitar players, more specifically.
Wagner